The heartbreaking reality of coerced abortion: A mother’s unforgettable testimony

As the legal case Women’s Life Care Center v. Ellison unfolds, it is bringing to light numerous troubling stories about the irreversible pain caused by coerced abortions.

One such story is that of Brittany Weston, who submitted a declaration in support of the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction in this case. 

Her testimony reveals that women had been facing coercion at Planned Parenthood Minnesota, Planned Parenthood North Dakota, Planned Parenthood South Dakota, and Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPMNS/PPNCS) facilities for many years before Women’s Life Care Center v. Ellison was filed.

In 2005, Weston was dating a 41-year-old man when she discovered that she was pregnant. She was 22 years old and on the cusp of graduating from college at the time.

“When she found out at a medical clinic that she was pregnant, she immediately ruled out an abortion. She wanted to raise her baby herself,” the Women’s Life Care Center v. Ellison complaint states.

But the baby’s father demanded that she get an abortion. According to Weston’s declaration testimony, he eventually coerced her into going to a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

“There was no discussion about the reason for an abortion. The ‘counselor’ just had to check a box. In fact, there was no counseling at all,” says Weston in recollection of the day of the abortion. “No discussion of the risks. There was no information about how I could keep my baby, or what organizations were available to give me assistance.”

PPMNS only required a signature of “consent” and payment upfront without having Weston speak with a counselor first. 

Despite suffering from depression and her reluctance to proceed, Weston’s counseling session lasted only five minutes. Weston claims that its only purpose was to ensure she had signed the consent form.

PPMNS made no effort to determine if Weston was voluntarily submitting to the abortion. Realizing this, Weston became distressed. She recalls that she “bawled her eyes out” and exclaimed to a PPMNS worker, “I feel like I’m killing my baby if I go through with this.”

PPMNS proceeded with the abortion anyway.

“I felt completely helpless. No one was helping me,” Weston remembers. “I was being pressured to have an abortion, and all Planned Parenthood was doing was making that abortion happen.”

Later that year, Weston submitted a declaration in the Planned Parenthood v. Rounds case, testifying that the baby’s father forced her to have an abortion and PPMNS subjected her to an unwanted procedure. 

Then, in 2006, she submitted another declaration of the same facts in the PPMNS v. Daugaard/Noem case using the pseudonym “Jane Doe #1.”

PPMNS failed Weston and other mothers by not providing essential counseling on the abortion procedure or offering resources to help them keep their children. 

Now, Weston is standing up for other mothers who underwent coerced abortions by supporting the plaintiffs of Women’s Life Care Center v. Ellison. Please consider supporting the plaintiffs in their fight for life by making a meaningful contribution here. Learn more about the case here.